Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security

Double Agents

A double agent is person who conducts espionage for two, usually
antagonistic, countries. Double agents allow intelligence services to
gather information by infiltrating enemy organizations under cover. An
organization usually recruits double agents from the ranks of a rival
intelligence service, and then "turns" them, using them as
spies for their own purposes.

The use of double agents in intelligence tradecraft and strategy is one of
the oldest practices in the art of espionage. Spies and double agents
appear in literature and written histories from the ancient civilizations
of Egypt, China, India, Greece, and Rome. The rise of great civilizations
and militaries prompted the need for intelligence gathering through
infiltration of enemy organizations.

In the modern era, double agents gained notoriety in a variety of
espionage scandals. While some double agents worked in accordance with
their ideals, others were paid handsomely with money or political favor
for betraying secrets. During the Cold War between the United States and
the Soviet Union, exposure of double agents became a key part of
counterintelligence operations. Double agents compromised intelligence,
military, industrial, and government strongholds in both nations,
sometimes with devastating consequences. Since the fall of the Soviet
Union, and the dissolution of its KGB intelligence agency, access to
formerly secret archives and testimony of former agents has exposed
several double agents, and the extent of their decades-long espionage
operations. In the United States, double agents working for the Soviet
Union (and later for Russia), such as Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen were
discovered, brought to trial, and sentenced to life in prison.

During the Cold War, and the decade after its end, double agents were
popularly associated with intrigue,

and trials of double agents gained extensive media attention. However,
within the intelligence community, the use of trained double agents waned.
Intelligence services replaced human intelligence operations with an
increasing reliance on satellite and electronic surveillance technology.
Technological surveillance permits intelligence organizations to conduct
operations without assuming the high risks associated with using human
intelligence or double agents exclusively.